Medicament inhalation device with audible indicating means

ABSTRACT

There is described an inhalation device, which is adapted to administer a medicament to the lungs and to be activated by the inspiration of the user, in combination with means adapted to indicate audibly when a desired air flow through the device is achieved.

Muted States Patent [1 1 [111 3,837,341 Bell [4 1 Sept. 24, 1974MEDICAMENT INHALATION DEVICE [56] References Cited WITH AUDIBLEINDHCATING MEANS UN ED STATES PATENTS [75] Inventor: John Howard Bell,Loughborough, 701,613 6/1902 Raecke 131/178 England 3,518,992 7/1970Altounyan et al. 128/208 3,635,219 I 1972 Al I. 8 [73] Assignee: FisonsLimited, London, England tmmyan et a I266 [22] Filed: Aug. 23, 1973Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery 1 pp NO': 390,739 Attorney, Agent,or Fzrm-Wenderoth, Lmd & Ponack [57] v ABSTRACT [3O] ForelgnApplication. nonty Data There is described an inhalation device, which'is Aug. 23, 1972 Great Britain 39173/72 adapted to administer amedicament to the lungs and to be activated by the inspiration of theuser, in com- [52] [1.8. CI. 128/266, 128/208 bination with meansadapted to indicate audibly when [51] Int. Cl A6lm 15/06 a desired airfl through the device is achieved Field of Search 128/206, 208, 266

12 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure MEDICAMENT INHALATION DEVICE WITH AUDIBLEINDICATING MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to anew form of device for the inhalation of medicaments and the like.

In British Patent Specifications Nos. 1,122,284 and 1,182,779 there aredescribed devices for the inhalation of medicaments in finely dividedform, which comprise a hollow elongate housing having at both endsthereof an air passageway and having one end adapted for insertion intothe mouth; and a propeller-like member rotatably mounted in the housingon a rigid shaft mounted in the housing and coaxial with thelongitudinal axis of the housing, said propeller-like device having onthe part thereof furthest from the end of the housing adapted forinsertion into the mouth, mounting means adapted to receive a container,such as a gelatine or like capsule for the medicament to be inhaled andsaid propeller-like device being so mounted on said shaft that thepassage of a stream of air through the device causes not only rotationalmovement of the propeller-like device, but also a vibrational movementof the propeller-like device. The device may be provided with means forpiercing the container in situ in the device.

A number of other devices are also known and used for the inhalation ofpowder and other medicaments, and a number of these devices also dependupon the inspirational power of the user to actuate them or to dispersethe medicament into the air stream to be inhaled (see for exampleBelgium Pat. No. 781,102 in which there is described a device comprisinga chamber in which a perforated capsule containing a powdered medicamentcan be freely tumbled by tangential jets of incoming air and the airinto which the medicament is dispersed passes from the chamber to theinhalers mouth). Indeed in certain devices and using certain medicamentformulations it is desirable that a given minimum air speed be achieved(or maximum air speed avoided) to produce a satisfactory operation ofthe device (e.g. dispersion of the medicament). In some instancesnotably with children and old people, it can be difficult to teach theuser to inhale in such a manner as to operate the device satisfactorily.Furthermore inhalation devices are often used by people who have reducedinspiratory power, e.g. those suffering from respiratory diseases, andchildren. Therefore when people having reduced inspiratory power useinhalation devices it is not always possible to determine whether theflow of air through the device has been sufficient to actuate the devicesatisfactorily. Thus some such users may be receiving variable orinsufficient medication.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON According to our invention we provide aninhalation device, which is adapted to administer a medicament to thelungs and to be activated by the inspiration of the user, in combinationwith means adapted to indicate audibly when a desired air flow throughthe device is achieved.

The inhalation device may be any of those conventionally used, but ispreferably a device which is designed to administer a powderedmedicament, e.g. the device described in either of British PatentSpecifications Nos. 1,122,284 or 1,182,779.

The means adapted to indicate audibly when the desired air flow throughthe device (indicating means) is achieved may be, for example a whistle(Robert C Chanaud, Scientific American, January 1970 pages 40 to 46),such as an aerodynamic whistle. Aerodynamic whistles may be roughlyclassified into three groups (a) hydrodynamic whistles, (b) acousticwhistles and (c) reflected whistles. Many conventional whistles combinecharacteristics of more than one of these groups. As hydrodynamicwhistles there may be mentioned aeolian tone generators (e.g. a thincylinder placed in an air stream), and vortex whistles in which latter aswirling flow of air encounters the open end of a pipe. Acousticwhistles include those generated by the impingement of a jet of air onan edge, a ring or a hole to produce respectively an edge tone, a ringtone or a hole tone. We particularly prefer to use a hole tone generatedby the passage of air through a double orifice hole with an interveningchamber, as in the whistle of a whistling kettle. Acoustic whistlescomprise those in which a resonant or reflecting structure is involved,as in a flute or organ pipe. For the purposes of the present inventionan acoustic whistle similar to the type used by English policemen(simple flute type) or by American policement (comprising a solidobject, e.g. a pea or the like, loosely trapped in a sounding chamber)may be used. A reed whistle may also be used. Other indicating meansinclude a propeller like device in which the blades are designed to emita noise on reaching a given speed; or may be a siren. Any of the aboveindicating means may be used in conjunction with an air by-pass, the airby-pass being of such a size that the indicating means will onlycommence to sound or will change the sound at the desired air-flow rate.

The indicating means may be such that the sound emitted changes at morethan one rate of air flow through the device. Thus the indicating meansmay be adapted to indicate a minimum and a maximum desirable air flow,or a minimum and a desirable average air flow.

The change of sound should be such as to be easily noticed and may be,for example a change of volume, pitch, quality, frequency, tone etc. Weprefer the change to be from not sounding to sounding, orvice versa.

We prefer that the indicating means should be actuatable when the userinhales through the device, but not when the user exhales through thedevice.

The indicating means may be made integrally with the inhalation device,or may be made separately, the two parts being made in such a way thatthey may be fitted together, for example by a screw thread, a bayonetfit or a simple push fit.

The indicating means may be positioned downstream of the point at whichmedicament is dispersed into the air stream, but, in order to avoidcontamination of the indicating means, it is preferably positionedupstream of this point, e.g. at the point of entry of the air streaminto the device.

The device according to the invention is particularly useful when itincorporates an inhalation device as described in British PatentSpecification No. 1,182,779 and is used to disperse a powder compositionas described in British Patent Specification No. 1,242,211, i.e., amixture of a solid finely divided medicament having a particle size inthe range 0.01 to 10 microns and a solid pharmaceutically acceptablewater soluble car- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention isillustrated by the attached drawing, which is not to scale and in whichFIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a device according to theinvention, which incorporates a device according to British PatentSpecification No. 1,182,779.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In FIG. 1 an inhalation degicecomprises a housing of approximately circular cross-section comprisingtwo engaging housing members 6 and 7, housing member 7 being adapted forinsertion into the mouth and having passageways 8 therein to permit thepassage of air. Mounted rigidly in and co-axially with housing member 7is shaft 2 upon which is loosely and rotatebly mounted by means ofbearing 17 propeller-like member 3 having blades 4.

Propeller-like member 3 has a cup shaped member adapted to receive andhold a capsule or container 5 of finely powdered medicament.

Shaft 2 engages in bearing 17 on propeller-like member 3. The diameterat the inner end of bearing 17 is about 3.75 percent greater than thediameter of shaft 2 and the diameter at the outer end of bearing 17 isequal to the diameter of shaft 2 plus about 2.5 percent of the totallength of the bearing, which is about 7 times the diameter of shaft 2.

Housing member 6 has in its end wall air passages 9 to permit thepassage of air. Housing 6 is firmly attached to body member 1, forexample it may be glued thereto, and mouthpiece 7 is removably attachedto body member 1 by means of co-operating screw threads 34 in bodymember 1 and mouthpiece 7.

Housing member 6 has a central projection 25 with a slot in which ismounted resilient piercing member 26. Piercing member 26 is retained inthe slot in projection 25 by means of retaining block 27 which is, inturn, held in position in the slot by means of pin 28. The arms ofresilient piercing member 26 are located in slots in the walls of bodymember 1 and in guideways formed by guide members (not shown) extendinginwardly from the inner surface of body member 1.

Slidably mounted on body member 1 is tubular member 30 having cam-likeprojections 31 extending inwardly through the slots in body member 1.When member 30 is slid downwards from the position shown in FIG. 1cam-like projections 31 engage with the arms of resilient piercingmember 26 to force them inwards and thus to force piercing projections32 into contact with the surface of capsule 5 and finally to piercecapsule 5, the depth of piercing being limited by stops 33. When themember 30 is slid back to the position shown in FIG. 1 the resilience ofmember 26 causes the arms to spring apart and to resume the positionshown in FIG. 1.

Mounted on housing member 6 by means of a push fit is a double orificewhistle 41 comprising a first orifice plate 35 having central orifice36, a second orifice plate 37 having a central orifice 38, a primarysound chamber 39 and a secondary sound chamber 40.

In operation, the device is first loaded with capsule 5 by unscrewingmouthpiece 7 from body member 1 and placing capsule 5 in the cup-likedepression in propeller-like device 3. Mouthpiece 7 is then screwed backinto body member 1, and capsule 5 pierced by sliding member 30 downwardsfrom the position shown in FIG. 1 and then back to the position shown inFIG. 1.

The user then places mouthpiece 7 in the mouth and inhales through thedevice causing rotation and vibration of the propeller-like member 3,(and, when the desired air speed is achieved causing the whistle 41 tosound) thus administering powdered medicament contained in capsule 5.

I claim 1. An inhalation device, for administering and dispensing amedicament to the lungs comprising a movable means activated by the airinspiration of the user, in combination with a means for indicating theoperation of the device comprising an audible means operated by saidinspired air when a desired air flow through the device is achieved.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the device has a means foradministering a powdered medicament.

3. A device according to claim 1, further comprising a hollow elongatehousing having at both ends thereof an air passageway and having one endadapted for insertion into the mouth; and said movable means comprises apropeller-like member rotatably mounted in the housing on a rigid shaftmounted in the housing and coaxial with the longitudinal axis of thehousing, said propeller-like device having on the part thereof furthestfrom the end of the housing adapted for insertion into the mouth,mounting means adapted to receive a container, such as a gelatine orlike capsule for the medicament to be inhaled and said propeller-likedevice being so mounted on said shaft that the passage of a stream ofair through the device causes not only rotational movement of thepropeller-like device, but also a vibrational movement of thepropeller-like device.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein said audible means is anacoustic whistle.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said audible r neansis asiren.

E A device according to claim 4, wherein said acoustic whistle is anedge-type tone generator.

7. A device according to claim 4, wherein said acoustic whistle is ahole-type tone generator.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein said audible means is a doubleorifice whistle.

9. A device according to claim 1, wherein said audible means includesmeans operable to produce a change from not sounding to sounding.

10. A device according to claim 1, wherein said audible means isoperable when the user inhales through the device, but not when the userexhales through the device.

11. A device according to claim 1, wherein said audible means is apropeller-like device in which the blades are designed to emit a noisewhen reaching a given speed.

1 2. A device according to claim 4 wherein said acoustic whistle is aring-type tone generator.

1. An inhalation device, for administering and dispensing a medicamentto the lungs comprising a movable means activated by the air inspirationof the user, in combination with a means for indicating the operation ofthe device comprising an audible means operated by said inspired airwhen a desired air flow through the device is achieved.
 2. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the device has a means for administering apowdered medicament.
 3. A device according to claim 1, furthercomprising a hollow elongate housing having at both ends thereof an airpassageway and having one end adapted for insertion into the mouth; andsaid movable means comprises a propeller-like member rotatably mountedin the housing on a rigid shaft mounted in the housing and coaxial withthe longitudinal axis of the housing, said propeller-like device havingon the part thereof furthest from the end of the housing adapted forinsertion into the mouth, mounting means adapted to receive a container,such as a gelatine or like capsule for the medicament to be inhaled andsaid propeller-like device being so mounted on said shaft that thepassage of a stream of air through the device causes not only rotationalmovement of the propeller-like device, but also a vibrational movementof the propeller-like device.
 4. A device according to claim 1, whereinsaid audible means is an acoustic whistle.
 5. A device according toclaim 1, wherein said audible means is a siren.
 6. A device according toclaim 4, wherein the acoustic whistle has an edge-type tone generator.7. A device according to claim 4, wherein said acoustic whistle is ahole-type tone generator.
 8. A device according to claim 1, wherein saidaudible means is a double orifice whistle.
 9. A device according toclaim 1, wherein said audible means includes means operable to produce achange from not sounding to sounding.
 10. A device according to claim 1,wherein said audible means is operable when the user inhales through thedevice, but not when the user exhales through the device.
 11. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said audible means is a propeller-likedevice in which the blades are designed to emit a noise when reaching agiven speed.
 12. A device according to claim 7 wherein said acousticwhistle is a ring-type tone generator.